News

The Blanton Museum of Art, in partnership with the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, presents a special selection of objects that illuminate the lifestyle, technological achievements, and ideology of pre-Inka cultures among the coastal Andes of South America. Between Mountains and Sea: Arts of the Ancient Andes features 80 extraordinary works from the University’s collections, ranging from intricately woven textiles to painted ceramic vessels and modeled effigies. Through a dynamic presentation that integrates art historical and anthropological contexts, the exhibition traces the artistic development of the ancient Paracas, Nasca, Wari, Moche, Chancay, Sicán, and Chimú cultures from the Early Horizon (900–200 BCE) through the Late Horizon (1470–1532 CE) periods.

The exhibition has been named a "must see" for Spring 2014 by ART NEWS.

The only shrine ever found dedicated to Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death, has been discovered near the site of Tehuacan.

Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History have called the fifteenth-century structure, built by the Popoloca people, the Temple of Skulls because on the west and north walls, they found two niches containing four femurs each and human skulls held in place with stucco. Traces of red paint on the mouth of one of the skulls resembles an image of Mictlantecuhtli in the Codex Borgia, and two ceramic heads and an effigy of the god of the dead were found on top of the temple. Remains of human sacrifices were also recovered.

Guatemalan and Spanish archaeologists have discovered the earliest Mayan mural fresco in northern Guatemala, near the Mexican border.

The mural is executed in the painting technique called 'fresco' which involves painting on a freshly laid lime plaster coat before it has dried said Cristina Vidal, Scientific Director of the archaeological site La Blanca, where the painting was discovered.

The Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies is (LLILAS) will be hosting a Mesoamericanist visiting professor for the Spring 2014 semester: Dr. Raquel Padilla Ramos, Lozano Long Visiting Professor.

The Mesomerica Center congratulates Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Art and Art History Dr. Julia E. Guernsey on winning the prestigious University Co-Op Robert W. Hamilton Book Awards for her work “Sculpture and Social Dynamics in Preclassic Mesoamerica".

The Hamilton Awards are among the highest honors of literary achievement given to published authors at The University of Texas at Austin.

"I am thrilled by this honor, and delighted to share this research recognition with two other colleagues from the College of Fine Arts," Guersey said. "It was a great year for COFA, and a wonderful testament to the quality and diversity of research that takes place within our college."

A new Maya Frieze was discovered in Holmul. “The enormous frieze—which measures 26 feet by nearly 7 feet (8 meters by 2 meters)—depicts human figures in a mythological setting, suggesting these may be deified rulers. It was discovered in July in the buried foundations of a rectangular pyramid in Holmul.” explains Estrada -Belli. Maya archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli and his team were excavating a tunnel left open by looters when they happened upon the frieze. "The looters had come close to it, but they hadn't seen it," Estrada-Belli said.

The University of Texas Press is a book and journal publisher—a focal point where the life experiences, insights, and specialized knowledge of writers converge to be disseminated in both print and digital formats. Established in 1950, UT Press has published more than 3,000 books over six decades.

Researchers began decoding the glyphic language of the ancient Maya long ago, but the Internet is helping them finish the job and write the history of this enigmatic Mesoamerican civilization. COFA's David Stuart started a blog for scholars and amateurs.